DATE: September 12, 2023
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Acting Chief of Police
SUBJECT: Adopt a Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to Accept and Appropriate $3,000 in Awarded Grant Funding from the Best Friends Animal Society in Connection with its GoodPup Scholarship Grant for the Hayward Police Department’s Animal Services Bureau
RECOMMENDATION
That the Council adopts a resolution (Attachment II) authorizing the City Manager to accept and appropriate $3,000 from the Best Friends Animal Society for the Hayward Police Department’s Animal Services Bureau.
SUMMARY
A Best Friends Animal Society representative recently toured the Hayward Police Department’s Animal Services Bureau. The Hayward Animal Services Bureau was then selected to receive a $3,000 grant as part of the Best Friends Animal Society’s GoodPup Scholarship Grant. Through this grant, adopters of long-stay dogs and dogs with some behavioral challenges will be provided with scholarships for 6-weeks of free online behavior training through GoodPup as an incentive to adopt these more challenging dogs who are often overlooked. Funding will provide scholarships for twenty (20) dogs and their adopter with the goal of decreasing the length of time these dogs stay in the shelter and increasing their chances for success in their new home.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
On July 10, 2023, a Best Friends Animal Society representative toured the Hayward Police Department’s Animal Services Bureau. Hayward Animal Services Bureau’s challenges and programs were discussed. One such challenge is the number of dogs entering the shelter and how long they sit in the shelter’s adoption wards before being adopted, fostered, rescued, or eventually euthanized due to their declining mental health. This is a challenge shelters nationwide are facing due to the unprecedented number of dogs entering shelter systems post-pandemic.
Hayward Animal Services Bureau recently partnered with GoodPup, an online behavior and training platform offering lifetime discounted subscriptions to owners who adopt a dog or redeem their dog from participating shelters. GoodPup offers 1:1 training using only humane, reward-based training methods. Six- or eight-week training scholarships can be purchased by shelters to give to adopters, or owners considering surrendering their dog for behavior reasons.
Best Friends Animal Society selected Hayward Animal Services Bureau to receive $3,000 in regional discretionary funding as a grant specifically to fund Good Pup scholarships. Funding will provide free 6-week scholarships for training services through GoodPup to adopters of twenty (20) dogs that have the longest length of stay in the shelter, and/or dogs that have been identified as more behaviorally challenged. The intent of these scholarships is to encourage adopters to select these harder-to-adopt dogs by providing a free training resource to help these dogs transition successfully into their new homes and become well-mannered canine members of the community.
FISCAL IMPACT
Acceptance of the Best Friends Animal Society’s GoodPup Scholarship grant will have no impact on the General Fund.
STRATEGIC ROADMAP
The Best Friends Animal Society’s GoodPup Scholarship supports the Enhance Community Safety & Quality of Life priority outlined in the Council’s Strategic Roadmap although it does not fit into a specific project.
NEXT STEPS
If Council adopts the attached resolution, staff will accept the grant via the Best Friends Animal Society’s online grant platform. Once funding is received, staff will appropriate the funding into the Police Department’s budget and administer the grant per the terms and conditions of the Best Friends Animal Society’s GoodPup Scholarship grant agreement.
Prepared by: Jennie Comstock, Animal Services Administrator Recommended by: Bryan Matthews, Acting Chief of Police
Approved by:
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Kelly McAdoo, City Manager